The Privileged Life: Ways to Honor the Fallen…and Jesus Christ

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power….” (Revelation 4:11)

Memorial Day frequently comes and goes for many of us without remembrance. We treat it casually, just another holiday to celebrate with cookouts, a day at the park, or shopping sales.

This morning, however, the gloom of rain has brought to my mind the real reason for setting this day aside—to remember those who gave their lives to keep America (and so many other nations) free from tyranny.

More than a million people in our armed forces have died in wartime. So many others, too, have suffered permanent wounds from defending our nation.

*U.S. cemetery near “Omaha Beach” in Normandy, France*

How can we honor them? What can each of us do to say “thank you” for their sacrifices? Here are a few suggestions, gleaned from various sources:

Observe a moment of silence at 3 p.m.
Pin a red silk poppy to your shirt—a symbolic reference to the poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Fields, about deaths during World War I.
Share a memory on social media.
Donate or volunteer time to charities that benefit veterans.
Fly the flag at your home or business.
Write a letter to your newspaper, to a veteran, or to family members who lost a loved one in wartime duty.
Join others at local Memorial Day celebrations, especially at war memorials.
Visit a veterans’ hospital or nursing home; take snacks and listen to veteran stories.
Take flowers, wreaths, or flags to cemeteries.
Pray for those who currently serve in harm’s way, for our veterans, and their families.

Even as we do these things out of respect for the fallen, are we doing the same for Jesus Christ? Do we have the same admiration and reverence for what He has done for us?

*Cross carved by a Crusader, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem*

When Jesus died, all of His friends fled. Pilate had Him scourged, probably with a leather whip containing sharp fragments to slice His skin. Soldiers mocked Him with a crown of thorns and purple robe (see John 19:1-3). He had no hero status on the cross, no memorial stone at His grave.

Do we go through our days ignoring all this…that His death and sacrifice has made us free?

Friend, let’s commit today to remembering not only the human cost of war but also the love and grace of Christ in giving up His life for us. Someday in heaven, the hosts of angels and all the souls dwelling there will give honor to Jesus, the Lamb of God, before His throne. Until then, let’s honor the name of Jesus—the name above all names—and praise Him, with joy, for what He has done to redeem and preserve our freedom, for His glory.

Jesus Christ, help me to celebrate my freedom in You today. As I pay respects for those who died in our armed forces, I pray You will bring to mind Your own sacrifice for me. May I praise Your name every day for Your great love and mercy! In Your name, Amen.

Here’s a poem I wrote many years ago, in remembrance of a cousin who lost his life in World War II:

Memorial

Tracing bronzed lines, my fingers followed the outline of his name,
And shrouded in the light of mem’ry hallowed, the wistful teardrops came;
For I thought of him, so brave and young, a fallen hero yet unsung…
He was just a boy and yet a man, who freely gave me precious liberty.

He served his country well, despite the sadness of leaving family;
He stormed the gates of hell and all its madness beyond a foreign sea…
And he gave his life upon that shore, and breathed this earthly air no more.
Even now, it pains to know he chose to do this for me, to make me free.

And in his sacrifice, I see another—answering the call,
Leaving paradise and His own Father, giving me His all…
He did not hold back when it came time to serve the sentence for my crime;
He was fully God and fully man who loved me deeply…He, too, died for me.

What will I do for You, who suffered anguish and counted it all grace?
How can I thank You, too, for Your forgiveness and standing in my place?
I will burn a candle in my heart that sends a light into the dark;
I will tell the world that You still live and love them deeply, so they, too, can be free….

To learn more about the grace of Jesus Christ, go to this page: https://lightbournecreative.com/good-news-for-you/

#flandersfields #memorialday #rememberingwardead #veteranshospital #warveterans